How to Apply for SIA Security Guard Licence: A Step-by-Step 2026 Guide

To apply for SIA Security Guard Licence, you need to be at least 18, hold the current licence-linked qualification, pass the SIA’s identity and suitability checks and pay the £204 application fee. Before you can start the security guarding qualification, you also need an accepted first-aid certificate with at least 12 months left to run. Once your training provider’s awarding organisation has confirmed to the SIA that you’ve passed, you can submit your application through your online SIA account and follow the identity-verification steps in your “next steps” message.

That’s the process in outline. Working in a licensable security role without holding the required licence may be breaking the law, so it’s worth getting each stage right rather than guessing your way through. This guide covers how to apply for SIA Security Guard Licence in the order the SIA actually expects, with the current fees, timings and documents required in 2026.

The Security Industry Authority (SIA) is the body appointed under the Private Security Industry Act 2001 to regulate the UK’s private security sector. It issues licences for roles including security guarding, door supervision and CCTV operation and its checks confirm that anyone guarding property, controlling access, or watching public spaces has been vetted for the job. Most of what feels like paperwork in this process exists for that reason: the SIA satisfying itself that you’re fit to hold a position of trust.

On pay: the National Careers Service lists typical annual earnings for security officers at around £20,000 for starters, rising to about £35,000 for those with more experience. Actual pay varies by location, employer, shift pattern and site type, so treat any figure, including this one, as a general guide.

Step 1: Work Out Whether You Need a Licence

Not every guarding job requires one and some first-time applicants pay for the wrong course before checking this properly.

When a licence is required: you need an SIA Security Guard licence if your role involves guarding premises or property against damage, theft, unauthorised access or disorderly behaviour and you’re working under a contract for services typically through a security contracting company that places you with a client.

When you might be exempt: if you’re employed directly “in-house” by the business whose premises you’re protecting a supermarket’s own loss-prevention staff, for example you don’t usually need a licence for that role. Two activities require a licence even for in-house staff: door supervision at licensed premises and vehicle immobilising (which applies in Northern Ireland only). If your in-house role touches either of those, the general exemption won’t cover you.

Step 2: Choose the Right Licence Type Before You Book Training

Pick the licence based on the work you actually want, before you pay for anything:

• Security Guard – static guarding, retail security, corporate and patrol roles
• Door Supervisor – licensed premises, events, venues and entry control
• CCTV (Public Space Surveillance) – control room and surveillance work

Training fees aren’t typically refundable once a course has started, so this decision is worth ten minutes of research beforehand.

Step 3: Check Your Eligibility, Including the Criminal Record Rules

Core Eligibility Criteria

Separately, your training provider, not the SIA licensing team, must confirm you have sufficient English reading, writing, speaking and listening skills to complete the course and its assessments before you’re put forward for training.

The SIA checks every applicant’s criminal record and since 1 December 2025 it has sorted decisions into more clearly defined categories. You’ll fall into absolute refusal if you’re on the sex offenders register, subject to a sexual harm prevention order, or (for first-time applicants) have convictions for more than one sexual or child abuse/neglect offence. Intention to refuse applies to most other sexual or child abuse/neglect convictions and to any custodial sentence of more than 48 months. A custodial sentence of more than 12 months places an application in a consider additional factors category, where the SIA weighs the full picture before deciding. If you have a record and want an early steer, the SIA’s own criminal record indicator is worth checking before you pay any application fee.

If you’ve lived outside the UK for six or more continuous months at any point in the last ten years, you’ll need to provide an overseas criminal record check for that period; this is separate from and longer than the five-year UK address history above. The ten-year window took effect on 1 December 2025, up from five years previously. If part of the last decade involved an extended stay abroad, start gathering that evidence early, since how quickly the relevant country responds is largely out of your hands.

The SIA also says it can weigh other information it holds about you, such as conduct findings, county court judgments, or credible reports from employers or the public, as part of deciding whether you’re fit and proper to hold a licence, so this isn’t limited to a straightforward criminal-record check.

Since 2021, you’ve needed a valid first-aid qualification before a training provider can put you on the licence-linked security guarding course. Emergency First Aid at Work (EFAW), or an accepted equivalent such as First Response Emergency Care (FREC) or First Person on Scene (FPOS), can satisfy this, provided the specific certificate meets the SIA’s current requirements and has at least 12 months left to run when your security training starts. Your training provider checks this directly; the SIA doesn’t verify it as part of the licence application itself.

• Typical provider estimate: £50–£100

Our First Aid at Work Course (3 Days) and FREC 3 (First Responder Emergency Care) may provide an accepted route where the qualification and certificate meet those requirements; confirm this with us before booking. If your existing certificate is close to expiring, FREC 3 Requalification is worth asking about as an alternative to starting again from scratch.

The qualification currently linked to a security guard licence is the Level 2 Award for Working as a Security Officer in the Private Security Industry (or the separate Scottish equivalent at SCQF Level 6). Under the current specification, this runs 30 hours over four days where approved self-study is used, or 38 hours over five days without it. Delivery can combine self-study, virtual teaching and face-to-face training depending on your provider. If this is your first licence application, the qualification needs to have been achieved within the last three years.

• Typical provider estimate: £180–£300

Our Security Guarding Course follows this current specification and is delivered through an awarding organisation that remains SIA-endorsed.

Important update for August 2026: the SIA has ended its endorsement of BIIAB as an awarding organisation, following what it describes as serious and persistent breaches of its recognition agreement. BIIAB cannot register new learners for SIA licence-linked security guarding, door supervision or CCTV training with immediate effect and cannot issue any new licence-linked qualifications on or after 10 August 2026. Qualifications BIIAB awarded before that date remain valid. If you’re mid-course with a BIIAB-approved provider, contact them directly and before booking anywhere new, confirm which awarding organisation will actually issue your certificate.

Once you pass your licence-linked qualification, your awarding organisation, not you, notifies the SIA directly. You cannot submit your licence application until that notification appears in the SIA’s system, so your qualification may not show up immediately after you finish the course. If it’s taking longer than your provider indicated, that’s the first thing to follow up on.

You apply through your own SIA online account, or, if your employer is an SIA-approved contractor, they may apply on your behalf and cover the fee. Before starting the form, have ready:

• One Group A document, for example, a current signed passport, or a current UK driving licence photocard
• Two Group B documents, at least one showing your current address. Examples include a bank or building society statement from the last 3 months, a utility bill (not a mobile phone bill), or a council tax statement from the last 12 months. Photocopies, online statement printouts, bank statements printed in-branch and mobile phone bills are not accepted, even if a branch has stamped them.
• Any name-change evidence, such as a marriage certificate, if your name differs across documents
• Right-to-work evidence, if the SIA specifically asks for it
• Evidence of an overseas criminal record check, if it applies to you

Your licence-linked and first-aid certificates aren’t usually documents you submit with the application itself; the notification and provider checks described above handle that side of things.

Write your address history down before you open the online form, checking the dates carefully. Missing or inconsistent dates can delay an application because the SIA uses this information for identity and criminal-record checks and a gap that appears by accident is one of the easier things to avoid with a bit of preparation.

The application form has nine sections. You’ll need to agree to the SIA’s identity and criminal record checks in section one before continuing and you can complete the rest in any order, saving your progress as you go. Once submitted, you cannot edit the information you’ve given, so review everything first; incomplete or incorrect details are a common cause of delay.

After you submit, the SIA sends a “next steps” message with your application reference number and instructions specific to your circumstances. If you live in the UK, this usually means visiting a participating Post Office, where staff check your reference number, examine the original documents you bring and take your photo for the licence card. Your next-steps message will also tell you how to pay the application fee; this may happen at the Post Office, online. Or through an employer or other linked organisation paying on your behalf. So follow the specific instructions you’re given rather than assuming one process applies to everyone.

Track your application status in your online account: “next steps,” “checks in progress,” or “decision made.” The SIA doesn’t publish a single average processing time, since so much depends on individual circumstances; its decision timescale indicator distinguishes between straightforward applications and more complex ones involving criminal records, overseas checks, or right-to-work verification. If the SIA sends a further information request at any stage, responding quickly is the biggest single factor in keeping things moving.

This estimate covers the application fee, first-aid training and the main security guarding qualification. It doesn’t include travel, assessment retakes, overseas criminal-record certificates, certified translations, or replacement identity documents, all of which some applicants will need.

From 1 April 2026, it costs £204 to apply for one SIA licence. Before that date, applicants paid £184 because of a temporary £20 rebate; the rebate has now ended, so new applications and renewals are charged the full £204. The fee is non-refundable in every circumstance, including where the SIA has to cancel an application because incorrect information was given, which is exactly why it’s worth getting your documents and address history right the first time.

If you need more than one licence type and already hold the required qualification for each sector, include them in the same application to receive the eligible discount: the first licence costs £204 and each additional eligible licence costs £102. This changed on 1 June 2026; previously, the discount could apply even when additional licences were applied for separately at a later date, but that’s no longer the case.

If your licence is granted, you can start work immediately without waiting for the physical card. Carry your “licence granted” letter alongside photo ID until the card arrives, which is usually within 14 days. Once issued, a standard security guard licence is valid for three years.

Since 1 April 2025, renewing a security guard licence has required mandatory refresher training. For security guards specifically, the SIA describes this as roughly half a day to one day of in-person training, depending on how much self-study you do beforehand, shorter than the door supervisor or close protection refreshers. It covers terror-threat awareness, lawful search procedures and recognising and supporting vulnerable people. The SIA doesn’t set the price of refresher training, since providers set their own fees, so treat any figure you’re quoted as a market estimate. You’ll also need an in-date first-aid certificate and recent counter-terror e-learning before you can take it.

If you currently hold a Door Supervisor licence and want to move to Security Guard, you can take the Security Guard refresher qualification and apply to switch, rather than repeating the full licence-linked course. Taking the Door Supervisor refresher instead simply renews your existing Door Supervisor licence, so the two routes lead to different outcomes. Check the current SIA guidance or ask your training provider which one matches what you actually want before booking.

• Names spelt slightly differently across documents
• Missing dates or unexplained gaps in your address history
• Booking training for the wrong licence type before checking what the job actually needs
• Documents that don’t meet the SIA’s rules, such as printed-at-home bank statements or mobile phone bills
• Submitting the form before checking every section, since it can’t be edited afterwards

These mistakes commonly cause delays or trigger a further information request rather than an outright refusal; refusal is normally tied to not meeting the licensing criteria itself, not to paperwork errors. Either way, checking everything before you submit saves time.

This guide reflects SIA guidance available in July 2026. Licence fees, accepted qualifications, awarding organisations and training requirements can and do change. Check the latest SIA guidance directly and confirm the awarding organisation with your training provider before paying for a course or submitting an application.